Migrants who cross the English Channel in the hope of finding a better life here will now go straight to prison, which the authorities have renamed the “migration centre” to avoid a scandal.
However, as The Guardian writes, the scandal is inevitable and serious. The fact is that the so-called Migration Centre is being set up by the Ministry of the Interior at Morton Hall Prison in East Lincolnshire County. Earlier this year Her Majesty’s Inspectorate found a high level of violence there. Despite the terrible conditions of detention, Interior Minister Priti Patel has allowed Morton Hall to be considered as a migrant accommodation centre. As The Guardian notes, the authorities do not rule out the sending of children there at the moment.
“It is completely inappropriate that the Ministry of the Interior intends to use detention centres, which are essentially prisons, to accommodate people seeking asylum. This is nothing but a shameless rebranding”, – says Minnie Rahman, public relations manager at the Joint Council for Immigration Welfare.
Rahman stresses that Morton Hall has “well-documented evidence of abuse”, so it cannot be used for migrants. However, contrary to criticism, the work is progressing as the UK has faced a record number of illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel.
On Tuesday alone, according to the Ministry of the Interior, 393 migrants were recorded arriving in small boats. Among them were children, including one infant.